by Naomi Niles
"They've gone home, which is what I'm about to do." Emma scowled as if I'd asked the stupidest question in the world.
"I mean, where's Tate?" I sighed.
"Mr. Holland took Halle out for the day so they could spend time together as a family. They won't be back for another hour," she said with an air of condescension. Then she looked me up and down and barked, "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had left."
"I took the day off to spend with my mother, but now I'm back."
"Too bad. You should have stayed gone while you had the chance. Now, get the hell out of my way, so I can go home like everyone else." Emma shoved me aside and reached for the door handle.
"Wait. You don't have to go." I grabbed her shoulder, frantically. Something about being in this big empty house alone at night terrified me, and I was so desperate not to be alone, I was even willing to spend time with Emma. As she glared at my hand on her shoulder, I said, "You could stay for a while, and we could hang out, watch a movie on television, get to know each other."
"I already know everything I need to know about you." She shrugged my hand off of her and opened the door with an angry pull. "You're nothing but a whore, and I hope you get what you deserve. Goodnight."
At least she let me know how long Halle and Tate would be gone, which dispelled the panic I'd been feeling, and it was nice to know I had the luxurious mansion all to myself for a short time, if not a bit lonely.
I returned to my room, musing over just how much Halle and Tate had come to mean to me. I'd been so happy pulling up to the house, expecting to see them, and so disappointed when they weren't here. Fear that something had happened to them nearly froze my heart, and knowing that they were out together made me smile.
It hurt when Emma emphasized that they were out as a family, making it clear I wasn't part of that nucleus; but maybe someday I could be. I was certainly growing to love Halle like a daughter, and my feelings for Tate were...
There was no way to describe how I felt about him. He was handsome, charming, and incredibly charismatic. When I was with him, I felt beautiful, sexy, and alive. He had a brilliant mind, a witty sense of humor, and a kind and generous heart. He was everything I ever wanted in a man – only he was my boss and quite possibly a murderer. Though, those problems were coming to mean less to me.
I was thinking of him less and less as a boss lately; I just couldn't picture him as a murder, no matter what facts I found to give me doubts. He didn't have the heart of a killer, and it was hard to believe that he could be one. Tate was a unique man, but a good one, and I was hopelessly devoted to him despite my best efforts not to be.
I found myself looking forward to going to the zoo with him and Halle the next day. I picked out the perfect outfit and laid it out carefully on the armchair by my bed. Then I drew a hot bath, adding plenty of bubbles, and climbed into the deliciously relaxing hot water. It felt wonderful on my skin, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment of quiet peace.
There was no child to care for and no mother to worry about. Just me and the respite of the hot bath. I let my mind wander to thoughts of Tate and inevitably to the way he made me feel when we had sex. My hands slid down my naked body, caressing my skin under the water. My fingers found my most sensitive folds and began to stroke myself there, making me sigh with pleasure. This was pure heaven.
Too bad I had no way of knowing that I wasn't alone.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Tate
"Daddy, where's Rachelle?" Halle stood in my office doorway that morning with an unhappy look on her sweet face. She was wearing a pale blue dress that was a miniature version of the one Rachelle had on when I saw her leave the house that morning, and her chocolate curls were split into two pigtails that hung past her shoulders.
I pulled Halle into my arms as she said sadly, "I want to show her my dress matches hers. We look like sisters."
"You sure do." I kissed her chubby cheeks. I spun her around in a circle until she squealed and giggled with delight. Then I threw her up in the air and caught her again in my strong arms.
When I thought she'd had enough, I held her back against my chest, and she hugged her arms lovingly around my neck.
"So, where's Rachelle?" she asked again, making it clear that she hadn't forgotten the subject like I had so foolishly hoped.
"She had to go someplace, so Emma is going to take care of you today. Isn't she in the nursery?"
"I don't like Emma. She's mean. She just sits and reads her boring book and won't play with me. Can't you take care of me instead?"
Her plaintive plea went straight to my heart, and there was no way I could refuse her. All the work on my desk could wait. Recent events had taught me that life was fleeting and I'd better enjoy every moment with my daughter that I could.
"Sure." I grinned at her, and Halle clapped her hands and cheered excitedly.
"Yeah! I'll tell Emma to go away." She squirmed out of my arms and headed for the nursery.
"Wait. You'd better let me do that," I said, and the child came to an abrupt halt. Chuckling, I said to her, "I think I'd deliver the news a bit more tactfully than you would."
Emma took the news with her usual enthusiasm and returned to her regular duties with her customary frown. There were days when I wanted to let her go, but she'd been working in the house since I was a young man, and at her age, I didn't think she'd be able to get a job working as a maid anyplace else, so I kept her on out of loyalty and pity. Perhaps it was a mistake, but I didn't think compassion was ever really wrong.
"What are we going to do today, Daddy?" Halle wanted to know after I finished talking with Emma.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"Let's go to the zoo!" she cried out, and I realized I should have expected that answer.
"We're going to do that tomorrow. Let's do something else today," I said, and her hazel green eyes grew wide.
"You mean I get to be with you today and tomorrow?" she asked with awe, and my heart melted. I realized just how much I'd been neglecting her, and vowed that never again would spending two days in a row with her father feel so rare.
"Yes, sweetheart." I stroked her hair. "We're going to spend a lot more time together, starting right now. So, what would you like to do?"
Some of her ideas were outlandish, but others were quite fun. I threw in a few of my own, and together we made an itinerary for the day, written in pink crayon on the back of one of her drawings.
We headed out to the garage, and I opened the door to my red Porsche 911. I'd had to modify the rear seats of my beloved sports car with isofix child-seat mounts for Halle, but it had been worth it. My beloved baby was still equipped with turbochargers and hugged the road even at high speeds.
It had been a long time since I'd taken her out for a spin, and she was way overdue. There were a lot of fine things in my life I'd been ignoring in the name of work, and it was time to break that bad habit. Besides, I had a feeling Halle would get a kick out riding in it.
"Where's Scott and the black car?" Halle proved me wrong by scowling at the Porsche like it was an alien spaceship.
"Scott took Rachelle for a ride in the black car so she could visit her mother for the day. I'm going to drive us in the red car, so climb in the back and get into your car seat.”
It was a strain getting her buckled in. It had been such a long time since we'd gone anywhere in the car, all the straps needed to be readjusted to make them fit, but at long last, I managed to get her buckled in.
"Rachelle went to see her mom?" Halle asked as I climbed into the driver's seat, letting me know she'd been contemplating the matter this entire time.
"That's right," I said, carefully backing out of the garage and down the long driveway.
"Do I have a mom?" Halle's question startled me, and I brought the car to an abrupt stop.
"Of course you do. Everyone has a mother. It's just that sometimes a mom can't take care of her child, so the dad does it, like I take care of you. It doesn
't mean your mom doesn't love you. It just means she has problems that prevent her from being able to take good care of you, so I get to."
I smiled broadly as I looked back over my shoulder at Halle looking so small and fragile sitting in her car seat. Halle frowned and asked, "Was Rose my mom? Is that why she went away?"
A heavy lump in my throat made it hard to talk, but I swallowed it back and said to her gently, "No, sweetheart. Rose wasn't your mother. She was your nanny, like Rachelle is."
"Does that mean Rachelle is going to go away, too?" Halle started to cry big splashy tears that rolled down her chubby cheeks. "I like Rachelle. I don't want her to go. I liked Rose, too. I don't want her to have problems and have to go away like Rose did. I miss her so much!"
She was sobbing now, and I felt like a complete piece of shit. Not once since Rachelle had moved in had Halle cried over Rose's death or woken in the night with bad dreams. Now, it seemed I had regressed all these weeks’ worth of progress and possibly even permanently damaged her.
"Quiet, sweetheart. Just calm down," I tried to soothe her. I unbuckled my seatbelt and prepared to move to the backseat to comfort her, but a flash of light caught the corner of my eye, and I froze in place.
"Hush. Be quiet," I raised my voice sternly, and Halle stopped wailing with a shocked gasp.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Daddy didn't mean to yell, but I need you to be very quiet right now." The intensity of my voice let her know I was serious. We were in danger, and she knew it. I whispered, "Don't say a word, and no matter happens, don't get out of the car. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Daddy."
I'd been looking past her, keeping my gaze on the figure in the distance. He was dressed in camouflage, except for black athletic shoes and a black skullcap, blending almost perfectly into the shrubbery surrounding the left wing of the house. I never would have seen him if the sunlight hadn't reflected off his camera lens. The moment it did, I saw him hiding in the shrubs, taking photos of the car and the open garage.
Is he an industrial spy or a burglar casing the mansion? Is he here to hurt one of us? I got many threats from people wanting revenge for some slight they thought my company had caused them or were jealous that I was rich while they suffered. Some threatened to burn down the house, while others were more personal and talked about kidnapping Halle or killing her.
I gave Detective Miller an entire stack of letters during his investigation of Rose's murder, and he promised his team would look into the possibility that one of them had done it, but I doubted that they ever really did. They were too fixated on me to consider other suspects, but now there was a criminal hiding right in my garden and I wasn't going to let him get away.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the intruder and tried to decide what to do about him. I could call 911 from my cell phone, but he'd be gone by the time they got here. Shit, what a day for Scott to be gone!
The intruder was taking pictures of the house, the entryway, windows, and doors. As I watched, I became convinced he was casing the place in preparation for a future crime – one I was determined to make sure he never got a chance to commit.
Getting out of the car, I shut the door firmly, locking Halle safely inside. I strode purposefully across the driveway toward him, my hands clenched into fists. He saw me and bolted for the fence, trying to make a run for it.
At last, all those hours I spent working out in my home gym, swimming laps in the pool, and lifting weights paid off. I outran the intruder easily and tackled him to the ground painfully, knocking his camera out of his hands and his skullcap off his head.
"Get the hell off me, or I'll sue," he cried out, scrambling away from me to pick up his camera.
"Sue me? You're lucky I don't have you arrested for trespassing or shot as an intruder!" I shouted out angrily as I pulled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt. "What the hell do you think you're doing skulking around my private property?"
"Freedom of the press is protected by the Bill of Rights. A woman was killed here last month, and the American people have a right to know what is going on and what secrets you’re hiding. If you don't let me go, tomorrow's headlines are going to be full of pictures of you assaulting me."
So, he was a member of the press. I should have known the paparazzi would never truly leave me alone. The information made me even angrier than when I thought he was a mere thief or intruder. They'll steal your money or possession, but these paparazzi assholes will steal your privacy, dignity, and your sense of comfort in your own home. There was no greater violation of personal liberty, and it took all my restraint not to throttle his scrawny neck right there in my driveway. Lucky for him, I knew Halle was watching.
Instead, I snatched the camera from off his neck with a painful yank.
"Not if you have no film," I taunted, and turned the camera around in my hands looking for the film cartridge so I could rip it out and ruin it. The photographer started to laugh, and I realized this was a digital camera with no film to destroy.
"On second thought, I'll just keep the whole camera," I stated, feeling like a fool and trying to recover.
"You can't do that." He grabbed for the camera, but I held it at arm's length, high above his head. He was a several inches shorter than me, with no hope of reaching it.
"I already did," I mocked. "Now get the hell off my property."
"I'll sue!" The man was jumping up and down now, making a fool of himself as he tried to regain his property.
"Go right ahead. I've got enough money to keep you tied up in court until hell freezes over, which is when you'll get your camera back. You've got until I push the gate button to release the dogs for you to get off my property."
"You're threatening to have your dog bite me? I'll sue you for that, too," he squeaked, but he was already backing away from me.
"Rottweilers – a whole pack of them," I corrected. "And by the time they're done chewing on you, there may not be anything left of you to press charges. After all, you have to be alive to sue."
"You are threatening me!" The photographer pointed an accusing finger at me, but his hand trembled so badly he was forced to put it back down immediately.
"I am under a murder investigation. What's one more body buried in the backyard?" I teased. Then I held up the fob for my Porsche and acted like it was for the gate. Pressing my thumb over it with an exaggerated movement, I shouted out, "Sick 'em boys!"
The photographer screamed and ran through the bushes as fast as his scrawny legs would go. He smacked into the fence and scurried under it through a hole hidden under a shrub.
He reached the other side and turned to see there were no dogs. The realization made him flush crimson, and he started swearing at me and shouting out threats.
"Give me back my fucking camera, or I'll come over there and take it. You have no fucking right to steal my property, you cock-sucking-asshole. I'll get back what's mine and a lot more. You won't get away with this."
Ignoring him and his pitiful rant, I got back in my car and turned to Halle, asking her, "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Daddy. You scared the bad man!" Halle was cheering from the backseat with happy excitement.
"I sure did." I leaned back and kissed her cheek. I tossed the camera into the backseat and used my cell to call Brighton Security. I told them about the incident and how the intruder had gotten in and out of the property.
He was tired of yelling now and stormed off into the wilderness. He probably saw me on my cell and thought I was calling the cops on him – which I should have, but I didn't want any more contact with the police right now. I'd had more than enough.
"We'll take care of the gap in the fence right away and increase our surveillance patrols," Pete, the owner of Brighton Security, assured me. "I suggest you file a trespassing report with the police immediately."
"My relationship with the police isn't the best right now," I said with chagrin. "I don't see any reason to be inviting further visits from them. Besi
des, I've got important plans tonight that I just can't break."
"Sounds like you've got a hot date with a beautiful girl," Pete teased, but I was dead serious when I responded.
"The most beautiful girl in the world, and I can't keep her waiting another minute. Take care of the fence for me, and make sure there aren't any more paparazzi lurking about. A woman died here last month; I need this place to be secured tight."
"It will be," he assured me, but the incident had me worried about just how safe any of us were, even in my own home. Maybe I really should get a pack of Rottweilers. I wasn't thinking about myself. I was concerned for Halle and now Rachelle, and praying that happened to Rose didn't happen to either of them.
I forced the dark thoughts from my mind. Halle was waiting for me to take her out on the town. We were going out for lunch first, then shopping at American Girl. The newest Disney film was playing in a matinee at 3:00 p.m. To top off our special day, I had chartered a yacht in Marina Del Rey, where we could watch the sun set. We'd have a dinner on the deck of her favorite foods. If the fish were biting, we might do a little moonlight fishing like my Dad used to do with me when I was a boy.
Then, it would be time to go home where Rachelle would be waiting to tell us about her day. It was the perfect itinerary for the perfect day. I should have known that things never went as planned, especially for me.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Rachelle
"Is there anything more heavenly than a hot bubble bath?" I sighed dreamily. Every muscle in my body was completely relaxed, and the skin on my fingers and toes had turned all wrinkly.
Suddenly, I heard a bang like a door being slammed or something being dropped. It startled me, but then I realized Tate must be home with Halle, and my lips curved into a smile.
I pulled the plug on the bottom of the tub to drain the water and stepped out from the bubbles. I toweled off quickly, grabbed my bathrobe from the hook on the back of the door, and wrapped it around myself. Then I rushed across my bedroom and opened the door that adjoined my room to the nursery.